"That was me," shouted Pee-wee; "I saw you on Main Street. Have your
fares ready and he'll bring you over. All aboard! All aboard to
Alligator Island with its tropic vegetarians and boat races!" And, in
his excitement and enthusiasm he added, "Step this way! Step right
this way!"

"Did you ever hear of such a thing," laughed one girl.

"He means after you step out of the boat," said Townsend.

You would have thought that Pee-wee was selling desert islands out of a
basket. He stood on the extreme edge nearest to the field, shouting,
"Here you are, this way for your desert isle! See the tropic
variations----"

"He means vegetation," said Townsend.

"He means fresh vegetables," called Brownie.

"Here you are for your fresh vegetables," Pee-wee shouted, hardly
knowing what he said at this actual prospect of business which he saw
before his very eyes. "The races encircle this island. Here you are
for your best seats! Come early and avoid the rush!"

"That's the wild man of the island," Townsend said; "he's perfectly
harmless: step right in the boat."

They were rowed over and escorted to seats, where they did not have to
wait long, for scarcely were they settled on one long bench when a
chorus of shouts arose down at the boat-house, as out into the river
shot two canoes.

"Oh, they're coming! They're _coming_!" the girls carolled in great
excitement and anticipation.

"Oh, look! Do _look_!" one of them said, clutching the shoulder of her
neighbor. "He's in the red canoe! It's Willie Dawdle, and he's ahead!
_Hurrah for Edgemere_! Oh, he's _coming_, he's _coming_! I knew we'd
_annihilate_ them, I just _knew_ it! Oh, it's simply _glorious_!"

"Hurrah for Bridgeboro!" shouted Pee-wee.

"Hurrah for Edgemere!" shouted the girls.

The two canoes, with Edgemere a little ahead as well as they could see,
came gliding up the river, two streaks, red and green, in the
sunshine . . .

CHAPTER XXIX

THE RACE

The canoe race, which was the first of the events, was also the
best--as well as the last. Never was there wilder excitement on
Pee-wee's island than when the green and red canoes glided northward,
approaching the turning point.

The red canoe skilfully paddled by the Edgemere champion, Willie
Dawdle, was some ahead and gaining rapidly and the girls from Edgemere
High School could not contain themselves for joy. Among the Alligator
Patrol, too, the excitement ran high and shout upon shou